Personal Development

Time to Fight FOMO & Other Things Holding You Back From Success

Every corner you turn in the name of social media, someone is on a lavish vacation, working from some cute cafe, or being “gifted” things the 9-5 girl can only dream about, so we pick and pry at ourselves to do better and work harder. (If you read my post about Arianna Huffington, you’ll know this is definitely not the answer!)

Thanks to Instagram, we are constantly bombarded with “thinspiration”, beach bungalows, and Kylie’s Lip Kits… there’s no escaping. It’s hard not to have FOMO (fear of missing out) and compare yourself to digital stars while vicariously living through them. Are these things holding you back from success? So what do you…

1. Stay in your lane.

Just keep swimming! Keep looking forward and going towards the gold regardless of what techniques other swimmers are using to try to beat you. If you’re going to be in competition with someone, let it be YOU.

When you stay in your own lane and continue to focus on what you’re doing and not what everyone else is doing, you’ll be a lot happier, more productive, and successful. You’ll be amazed by what opportunities arise and how much better your life gets.

Many uber successful people don’t even check social media or follow what their competitors are doing because they’re so immersed in their own stuff. So often we get caught up in comparing ourselves to those around us, in our industry, at work, etc. that it’s really a buzz kill.

There are no winners in the comparison game.

2. Realize you’re not alone.

Every single person has compared him/herself to another at some point and felt left out, defeated, and useless. And guess what? However specific your situation is, there is someone out there who’s going through the exact same thing. You’re never alone and the world isn’t out to get you.

Everyone goes through rough patches, it’s just a matter of powering through to the other side. In fact, those who have succeeded at what they set out to do most likely experienced a series of awful events that led them there. And through their stories of triumph they’ve inspired thousands of people.

So, if you’re experiencing FOMO or other things holding you back from success, why not share your story and help someone else?

3. Focus on your strengths.

You can work on your weaknesses, but that does nothing for your strengths. So why not focus on what you know you’re good at? Your strengths are going to allow you to hit a home run – use them to leverage yourself in a position for success.

Let your team compensate for your weaknesses while you kill it with your strengths.

4. Be grateful for what you DO have.

If you’re an avid social media checker like me, it takes about two celebrity Snapchat stories before you’re like #omg #squadgoals #majorFOMO… #FML. You forget about how great your life is because you’re so busy comparing it to someone else’s.

It sounds cliche but gratitude is the best attitude. A truly successful person isn’t posting on social media about how great life is because he/she is too busy living it and being grateful (Zanita is a big fan of this).

Another thing to keep in mind: while you’re comparing your life to someone else’s, someone else is comparing their life to yours.

There is someone in the world who would love nothing more than to switch places with you and the faster you realize that and become grateful for all that you have, the faster you’ll attract more of what you want.

Do you have FOMO? Tell me about your experience in the comments below.